Ece Soydam

{{short description|Turkish documentary filmmaker}}

[[File:Ece Soydam portrait.jpg|thumb|Ece Soydam, Turkish Filmmaker]]

”’Ece Soydam”’ (born 1971, Ankara) is a Turkish documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on Anatolian wildlife and Native American cultures. Her documentaries have earned national and international recognition. Notably, ”Dev Kanatlar” and ”Ormanın Sırrı: Karakulak” were officially selected at the [[Green Screen film festival|Green Screen Festival]] in [[Germany]] and the [[Innsbruck Nature Film Festival]] in Austria.<ref name=”batiantalya”>{{cite web|url=https://www.batiantalya.com.tr/ormanin-sirri-karakulak-belgeseline-buyuk-onur|title=”Ormanın Sırrı: Karakulak” belgeseline büyük onur|publisher=Batı Antalya|date=2023-07-21|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref><ref name=”kamu3″>{{cite web|url=https://www.kamu3.com/yonetmenligini-ece-soydamin-danismanligini-mugla-sitki-kocman-univers/700856/|title=Yönetmenliğini Ece Soydam’ın…|publisher=Kamu3|date=2023-08-15|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref> She is also the founder and president of the Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival.<ref name=”aiwdff”>{{cite web|url=https://www.aywff.com/|title=Ankara International Wildlife Film Festival – Official Website|publisher=AIWDFF|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

Ece Soydam graduated in 1992 from the [[Middle East Technical University]] (ODTÜ) in Ankara, where she studied English Language Teaching.<ref name=”kameraarkasi”>{{cite web|url=https://www.kameraarkasi.org/yonetmenler/ecesoydam.html|title=Ece Soydam|publisher=Kameraarkasi.org|accessdate=2024-07-29}}</ref> She later completed graduate studies in Social Cultural Anthropology at the [[University of Toronto]] (1996–1998), and in 2002 received a certificate in ethnographic filmmaking from the Anthropology Film Center in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]], New Mexico.<ref name=”greenscreen_director”>{{cite web|url=https://www.greenscreen-festival.de/en/festival/directors/d/soydam|title=Green Screen Festival – Director Archive: Ece Soydam|publisher=Green Screen Festival|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref><ref name=”greenscreen_director2″>{{cite web|url=https://www.greenscreen-festival.de/en/festival/directors/d/sydam/|title=Green Screen Festival – Director Profile: Ece Soydam (alt)|publisher=Green Screen Festival|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

She began her career in 1992 at [[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation|TRT]]’s Department of Documentary Programs. From 1993 to 1995, she worked as a production assistant for CNN World Report and joined the CNN Professionals Program in [[Atlanta]].<ref name=”greenscreen_director”/> In the 1990s, she translated two books into Turkish:

* ”Touch the Earth” by T.C. McLuhan – Turkish title: ”Yeryüzüne Dokun” (1994).<ref name=”mcluhan”>{{cite web|url=https://www.imge.com.tr/urun/yeryuzune-dokun-t-c-mcluhan-9789755330853|title=Yeryüzüne Dokun – T.C. McLuhan|publisher=imge.com.tr|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ”Indians of the United States” by Clark Wissler – Turkish title: ”Kızılderililerin Tarihi” (1996).<ref name=”wissler”>{{cite web|url=https://www.imge.com.tr/urun/kizilderililerin-tarihi-clark-wissler-9789755331546|title=Kızılderililerin Tarihi – Clark Wissler|publisher=imge.com.tr|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

==Notable documentaries==

Soydam’s documentaries often follow a single species or community across all seasons. She frequently collaborates with cinematographer Erol Yazıcı and uses traditional musical elements in her films.<ref name=”trttv1″>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnHteMWVT88|title=Ece Soydam ile belgesel yapımı üzerine|publisher=TRT Belgesel|date=2022|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ‘”Bozkırın Çocukları: Anadolu Yaban Koyunu‘” (2004) – Focused on the Anatolian wild sheep; won the “Nature and Environment Friendly Award” in 2006.<ref name=”tarimkutuphane”>{{cite web|url=https://kutuphane.tarimorman.gov.tr/vufind/Author/Home?author=Soydam%2C+Ece|title=Digital Agriculture Library – Author: Ece Soydam|publisher=T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ‘”Dev Kanatlar: Kara Akbaba”’ (2006) – Highlighting the endangered black vulture; internationally recognized.<ref name=”hurriyet_devkanatlar“>{{cite web|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/kelebek/dev-kanatlar-belgeseli-sonunda-ekrana-geliyor-5438490|title=Dev Kanatlar belgeseli ekrana geliyor|publisher=Hürriyet|date=2006|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ‘”Kurt‘” (2016) – A year-long shoot capturing the behavior of Anatolian wolves in winter conditions.<ref name=”gazeteduvar_kurt”>{{cite web|url=https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/kultur-sanat/2016/11/09/kurtun-dort-mevsimlik-oykusu-ekranda|title=Kurt’un dört mevsimlik öyküsü ekranda|publisher=Gazete Duvar|date=2016-11-09|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref><ref name=”trttv2″>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ym4o_UtonM|title=Ece Soydam ile Kurt belgeseli üzerine röportaj|publisher=TRT Belgesel|date=2016|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ‘”Oturan Boğa’nın İzinde‘” (2011) – Filmed in [[South Dakota]], the film explores Sioux heritage and traditions. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 36th Annual [[American Indian Film Festival]].<ref name=”imdb_awards”>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6895247/awards|title=Ece Soydam – Awards|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref><ref name=”tca_sittingbull”>{{cite web|url=https://tc-america.org/community/native-american-representatives-return-from-turkey-531.htm|title=Native American Representatives Return From Turkey|publisher=Turkish Coalition of America|date=2011|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

* ‘”Ormanın Sırrı: Karakulak‘” (2023) – Focused on the elusive caracal in Turkey’s southwest region; finalist at Green Screen and Innsbruck.<ref name=”trttv3″>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-KR-UgUVFc|title=Ormanın Sırrı: Karakulak – Ece Soydam Röportajı|publisher=Tarım TV|date=2023|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>

==Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival==

Soydam founded the Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival to promote interest in Turkey‘s biodiversity and to foster the development of local wildlife filmmakers. The festival includes competitions for short and feature-length documentaries.<ref name=”aiwdff”/><ref name=”ekoturk“>{{cite web|url=https://www.ekoturk.com/haberler/turkiyenin–ilk–yaban–hayati–film–festivali–ankarada-basliyor/|title=Türkiye’nin ilk yaban hayatı film festivali Ankara’da başlıyor|publisher=EkoTürk|date=2025-05-18|accessdate=2025-07-18}}</ref>